Generally, estuarine habitat is being lost at rates that concern coastal scientists and mangers. Much of the decline of salt marsh and seagrass systems has been through some type of alteration to the flow of water to these habitats, such as dams, levees, dikes, dredge and fill operation, drainage, roadways, etc. It is important for resource managers to understand the importance of these habitats to the long-term support of fish populations.
Estuaries are tidaly-influenced ecological systems where rivers meet the sea and fresh water mixes with salt water. They are crucial, highly productive transitional zones between land and water that provide: habitats, nurseries, water filtration, and flood control.